A New Case
by Queen of Spiritual
Summary: Deputy Sheriff Andrea Webber comes to Mystery Inc. for some help. Her sister, Virginia Webber, a romance writer, was murdered so many years ago and this is one case the police couldn't solve for themselves. Would Mystery Inc. be able to close this cold case?
1. Chapter 1

One late Wednesday afternoon, Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley, Shaggy Rogers, and Daphne Blake were sitting in Fred's law firm. They were listening to a woman tell her story. At least the gang had a job to do.

Their client was a woman who came here to Los Angeles from Utah. The woman was here in Los Angeles by airplane. She was here in Los Angeles for a week for a conference. Her badge told the gang she was a deputy sheriff. The gang turned out to like their new client right away.

The gang silently asked one another why would a woman police officer want to be involved with a group of four detectives? Velma decided to speak up.

"If you're a police officer, why did you come to this law firm?"

"I know it does seem a bit odd, but my department left this case unsolved. This is why I came to you."

Andrea didn't seem to pay any attention to the silent glances between the six friends. After she would leave this firm, she was going to check into Holiday Inn. The conference didn't start until a quarter till eight the next morning. Right now it was only five – twenty. Plenty of time for Andrea to take up some of her time with the gang.

"Were you and your sister identical or not?" Fred asked.

He had this feeling the others were thinking the same question he was.

"Yes, Virginia and I were identical twins. I was the oldest by ten minutes."

The name Virginia Webber did sound familiar to the gang.

"Was Virginia at home or on a tour when this happened?" Shaggy asked.

"She recently returned back here to Utah from a book tour. She wanted to start a new novel."

Fred's turn to ask a question.

"Was your sister alone when she came back to Utah from her book tour?"

"My department and I were told she was riding in a cab to her house."

"Was Virginia in the taxi alone with the driver?" Daphne questioned.

"That's where I can't answer. That was a missed detail," Andrea answered.

"Wow. A cold case on a well – known romance writer," Fred said once Andrea left the office.

"We solved a case on Andy, don't forget," Velma reminded him.

"I remember that, Velma," Shaggy replied as the five friends watched Fred turn off his computer and shut the light off and lock his office.

Patsy Logan, Fred's secretary, had already left home for the evening about fifteen minutes ago.

"Well, gang, looks like we have another mystery on our hands," Fred said, who was the leader of Mystery Inc.

The group nodded in agreement. The gang separated and went their own ways.


	2. Chapter 2

After she left Fred's law firm, Andrea didn't plan on keeping her fingers crossed about this famous detective group trying to solve her sister's unsolved murder. Since the sheriff here in Utah couldn't find any new evidence on Virginia's murder, he suggested to Andrea to ask a good lawyer she could talk to about this, and she did.

She'd been in the very same department ever since she graduated from high school. She ended up having her dream come true and her famous (now deceased) father, Donny Osmond, didn't seem to like this cop thing she always wanted was a good idea, but she did end up graduating from the police academy. Ever since she and Virginia were fifteen, Virginia had already gotten into writing romance novels.

Unlike most writers today, Virginia never really was interested in having the same characters having a comeback to have a series of their own. Like the rest of the Osmonds, her sister's books always hit #1 New York Times Bestseller list. She herself had a dream of becoming a cop just like Deputy Barney Fife. Like Barney, she carried a pistol, but not one bullet.

Andrea had this feeling Mystery Inc. would solve this case. Her question: How would they find the missing evidence? She was anxious to find the answer out for herself to see how these detectives would close this unsolved mystery.

After unlocking her car door, Andrea did notice the wind was starting to pick up with the weather by rain. It was still windy fifteen minutes later, but the rain did not decide to get very heavy just yet. As she climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the car door, she bought her cell phone out.

Sheriff Jackson answered.

"Hi, Sheriff," Andrea greeted her boss.

"Hello, Andrea. So how did it go? Who did you go to?" Jackson asked.

"Do you know Mystery Inc. 2nd Generation?" Andrea asked.

"Just heard of their reputation is all. Why do you bother asking?"

"Because I happen to think they would be good for the job," she answered.

"If they aren't, we'll have to find a nosy private detective. And don't you screw this up."

After that, Jackson disconnected before Andrea could say a word. Once she put the cell phone away, she headed straight for the Holiday Inn. The Holiday Inn was only about four or five blocks away from Kylie's law firm, Andrea noticed. There was no keeping your fingers crossed on this unsolved murder about her sister. She hoped Sheriff Jackson wouldn't need to find a private detective. She wanted to give this group a chance before her boss could do anything about it.

Once she parked into the hotel's parking lot, Andrea left the driver's door open. It wouldn't take too long to check in and find a room during her stay here in Los Angeles. There was a clerk or two behind the desk. One of them , a woman in her late thirties, was on the telephone, typing at the computer since a customer had recently called for a reservation. Andrea didn't get a close look at the woman's name, but the woman's hair was light – brown with a ponytail in the back, hair neatly washed, her fingernails recently had a manicure, and she also wore glasses. Andrea didn't want to bother poking her nose into some stranger's personal life ike this, even though she was a cop. Here in Los Angeles nobody knew who she was but she was mostly in Utah most of the time.

The older person behind the desk was a man. Andrea didn't bother paying attention to their fingers to see if they were married. Something she didn't care too much like most girls did, but like lots of girls, she was into gossip and enjoyed it. The man was wearing matching clothes as the woman, but he looked like he recently had a birthday. She guessed he was probably fifty or less in age. He also wore glasses, but he had light – red hair, light blue eyes. Andrea did notice one thing about him – hearing aids. He never really answered the telephone at the hotel because he'd been too deaf enough to handle that one small job.

Andrea didn't understand why a person at fifty years old would be wearing hearing aids if he was deaf. She didn't know a thing in sign language and that included the alphabet. Andrea started speaking to him. He looked at her, his eyes telling her he didn't hear a thing she said.

"I'm sorry, Brandon," Andrea said, noticing his nametag told her his name was Brandon.

He signed something to her: 'Do you have a reservation?' Andrea didn't seem to understand any of the signs but all she could do was nod her head to let him know she made a reservation not too long ago. That's when the woman, whose name was Rachel, put the phone back down. She watched Brandon sign away to Andrea.

"I'm sorry, Officer, he's deaf."

"I noticed, but I wasn't sure if he could hear me because of the hearing aids."

"The hearing aids really don't seem to help him much. He's been deaf his entire life," Rachel explained.

"Oh."

"May I have your name?" Rachel asked her, signing for Brandon at the same time.

He was happy to know what his fellow co – worker was letting him in the conversation.

"Andrea Webber."

Again, the fingers went away to Brandon. She watched as he punched in her name.

"For how many nights?" Rachel asked, signing away for Brandon.

"A couple of weeks would be good. I'm here on an investigation," Andrea said to the two.

As soon as Andrea answered the question, she, Brandon and Rachel turned to see a family of five walk in and joined her at the desk. Even this family didn't know Brandon was deaf.

Andrea figured she'd have to find something to do while here: take a sign language class so she could learn what Brandon said. She'd ask about that later but now the customers started piling up.

"Okay, Officer, here's your key. You'll be in 357," Rachel said and signed at the same time.

Brandon handed her a key and signed, 'Enjoy your stay.'

"What did he say?" Andrea asked.

"He said he hoped you will enjoy your stay with us."

"Tell him thank you," Andrea said and walked back to the open car.


	3. Chapter 3

While Andrea was walking out of the exit door of Holiday Inn, the gang was busy doing research on Virginia's unsolved death. They watched as Gloria punched in Virginia's name. Velma had received tons of results.

"Where should we begin?" Shaggy asked.

"You'll see," Velma told him.

Velma pulled up one website and they took a look at the information.

"Is this any of it we need to solve this mystery?" Fred asked.

"That's what we're trying to find out," Velma answered.

Then she printed the article out and logged out of the website. As Velma went through the results on the famous romance writer, Shaggy left to find something to eat.

"Shaggy would eat just about everything in sight," Velma said as everyone nodded in agreement.

"True that," Fred said, "while I was busy setting up traps."

Again the friends agreed.

After Velma made the remark about Shaggy, the gang watched as she typed Virginia Webber. The gang watched as she clicked on a website.

"No wonder these machines cooperate for you, Velma," Fred said.

She didn't say anything just quite yet. She read the article aloud to her friends.

"Sheriff Jackson, the sheriff of Utah, started working on a new mystery. This case is a tough one just like any other case. This time the murder was on a well – known romance writer, Virginia Webber. Jackson's deputy, Andrea Webber, is the deceased's relative.

"The two girls were born twins," the article went on.

"The two girls were raised in an orphanage out in Milwaukee. They didn't find anybody who would want the twin girls to be a part of their family. The girls were seven years old when somebody came along and adopted them.

"Their adoptive family was a famous rock and roll family from the 1970s, the Osmonds. Nobody knows until today how or why a famous group like the Osmonds would take in two orphans. The Osmonds are members of the Latter – Day Saints Church out here in Utah. The girls weren't that religious like the Osmonds were, but they ended up going anyway.

"The girls attended school like any other child and teenager would, but they had different interests for careers when they reached adulthood. Andrea, who always dreamed of being a cop, was able to get through college. After that, she enrolled in the Police Academy and was able to pass that.

"When the two sisters were adopted into the Osmond family, nobody could figure out anything about their past. Nobody knew how many minutes the girls were apart when they were born. Somehow nobody in the Osmond family knew what day of what month Andrea and her sister were born.

"The deceased, romance writer, had dreamed of being a writer, but never did think of publishing her works until Harper Collins, a publishing company went directly to her. Virginia accepted right away. Virginia was fifteen years old when her first story was published."

Velma stopped reading since the article left a cliffhanger for the gang.

"I wonder why the article stopped there," Daphne said, bending over Velma's shoulder for a closer look.

"Good question. Maybe we'll look for more of it on those results the computer gave us," Velma said.

Fred agreed.

"Boy, do I hate cliffhangers," Fred said as Velma printed out the article.

Everyone else agreed.

"Why are you printing the cliffhanger for?" Fred asked.

"Just for backup if we need to interview anyone. Maybe we could get Harper Collins on the telephone or in person," Velma suggested.

"Great idea," Shaggy told her.

After the printer finished spitting out a few pages, Velma watched as Daphne bent down to collect the information.

"I could've done that," Velma told her.

"I know," Daphne replied.

The gang watched Velma log off the website.

Whenever the gang looked up information such as this, Velma never bothered making up accounts and passwords since she was only a visitor. The gang hardly visited websites when they were not working on cases, so they didn't use their e – mails much like some people did. The only time they would go on the Internet, it was mostly information they were searching for on a certain case like this one. After the article was printed out, Velma signed off for time being. They had plenty of time to look for more details on this latest mystery.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where should we began to search for clues?" Shaggy asked.

Just like his friends, he was ready to start working on this mystery.

"I'd suggest we split up and see what we can find," Fred said.

"Sounds like a good idea," Velma agreed.

Not many members of Mystery Inc. had much time to read since they were on a mystery most of the time.

"I have an idea," Shaggy said.

"What?" Velma asked.

"Since we already found out some info on Virginia, what do you think of contacting some other family members or friends and see what we can pick up?" he asked.

"I think that's a good idea, Shaggy. I would also like to see what other info the gang will come up with."

"Agreed," Shaggy told her.

"i figured that," she replied.

Shaggy pulled an extra chair and sat next to Velma on the computer. He watched as she once again typed up Virginia Webber on the computer.

"What other info are we looking into now?" Shaggy asked.

"I would like to see what other kind of information we can find on the cliffhanger article I printed out," Velma answered.

"Good idea."

He asked her what he could do to help out.

"Why don't you go on another computer and look up all of the books she's written?"

"Good thinking, Velma."

So both friends worked for over a few hours. Shaggy had some luck, but it looked like Velma had done most of the work. While searching the Internet, Shaggy came across the last book that was written by Virginia, but it wasn't published since it was still in progress, but those who did find the manuscript decided to share what she had written before her murder.

While browsing the website, he decided to print out her latest story so his friends could see what he picked up. He stood up to print Virginia's unfinished story. While waiting, Shaggy gave a few stretches. Sitting across him was his sister. Velma looked like she was writing some of the information out as well. While waiting for the printer to finish, he walked over to Gloria to see what she'd found.

"Anymore luck, Velma?" Shaggy asked as he heard the printer finish his request.

"Same. I see you printed out some info."

"You better believe it. I'm going to text the others and see if they're ready to regroup."

"I think I'm done for now myself. Go ahead and text the others while I print out what I found out."

"Okay," Shaggy said as he walked back to the computer.

Before grabbing Virginia's unpublished romance, he grabbed for his iPhone from his pocket. The sound was still on mute, but he was still able to send text messages. He first sent a message over to Daphne. For now he had no thoughts on where the rest of his friends where. He got an answer from Daphne. She told Shaggy she and Fred were ready.

Shaggy grabbed the freshly new papers from the printer, and once again headed to Velma's computer.

"Velma, do you want me to collect your information out as well?" he asked, about to bend down on his left knee.

"Sure. Are the others ready?" Velma asked.

She was doing the same thing he was doing – doing a few stretches.

"Okay. While we're waiting, I'm going to use the ladies' room."

"Okay. I'll stay here, then."

When he did say that, she already disappeared.

"Daphne said she and Fred are ready."


	5. Chapter 5

So the four friends met at the parking lot where the Mystery Machine waited for the gang.

"Did anyone find any clues at all on Virginia?" Fred asked as he watched as most of his friends shook their heads, telling him they had no such luck.

"I think Velma and I did find something," Shaggy told the gang.

"At least there's something," Fred said as he gave out a sigh.

"Did you and Daphne find anything?" Velma asked.

"Not a one," Daphne answered before Fred could say a word.

"No wonder we're having much luck on this interesting mystery. I sure don't want to give up on this mystery like the police did."

"I think you're right, Daph," Velma replied.

"Tell us what you found," Fred said.

"I did print this out. I thought you might be pretty interested in seeing this," Shaggy said.

"Tell us already," Fred said impatiently.

"Hold your horses, Fred. I found her unpublished book."

"Wow. How did you do that?" Daphne asked.

"Just by typing Virginia's name and browse websites," Shaggy answered.

"Good work, Shaggy," Fred complimented.

"Did this unpublished story have everything she wrote before the murder?" Fred asked.

"I didn't see that, but my guess would probably be a yes," Shaggy answered.

"Maybe we can go through her novel," Daphne said.

"Isn't that why I printed this out?" Shaggy asked.

"I think so maybe we can show this to Deputy Webber and see if she recognizes the manuscript," Daphne said.

"My thought exactly, Daph," Fred said.

"That's what I thought, Fred. Do we need to invite Deputy Webber and see what she thought of her twin's unpublished novel?" Daphne asked.

"Good idea, but I wish I'd thought of that first," Fred agreed.

Everyone watched as Daphne grabbed out her cell phone from her shirt's pocket.

"Is that outfit new?" Velma asked.

"I bought it almost a week ago before we knew about this case," Daphne said.

"It does look good on you, Daph," Fred agreed.

The others agreed. Jessica wore a light purple shirt with polka dot stripes, a light purple belt, light purple jeans, light purple socks and shoes. She had a purple ponytail as well.

"You do look good in purple for sure, Daph," Shaggy replied.

"Why, thank you, Shaggy," Daphne said.

She dialed the cell phone number that Andrea had given them.

"Hi, Deputy," Daphne said when Andrea answered on the second ring.

"Hello, Daphne," Andrea returned.

"We have been talking, Deputy. We did find a clue we think you would be interested in checking out. When will you be available?" Daphne asked.

"Would lunchtime work?" Andrea asked.

"Sounds great. Where and what time would work for you?" Daphne asked.

"Well, how about noon at Dairy Queen?"

"Sounds great, Deputy. See you then," Daphne said and both women hung up.

"Noon at Dairy Queen would work out just fine," Daphne told her friends.

"I know," Shaggy replied.


	6. Chapter 6

That night once Andrea covered herself into bed, she opened the manuscript Frank had printed out from the public library computer. It wasn't very long when she began to go through it. It was only about ten to fifteen pages. The manuscript wasn't completed like she was told, but did have little time to read them. At least this would be a good time to do so.

It didn't take Andrea very long to go through of what her sister's idea was for the unpublished novel. It took her about eleven minutes to go through the manuscript. She had found this story very entertaining. She started to feel sad because Virginia wasn't alive to hear what she thought of the story.

Andrea knew for sure that Mystery Inc. 2nd Generation hadn't found the right time to go through her sister's manuscript, and it made her wonder if they planned on going through it. Andrea liked the thought of Danny, Frank, and Ryan on skipping to read the unpublished story her sister got into when her sister's case happened. The guys probably wouldn't be interested since Virginia's stories involved romance.

She'd planned on getting together with the gang sometime tomorrow and tell them she had a chance to go through the entire manuscript and what she thought of the story. She immediately grabbed the cell phone and called Sheriff Jackson back home in Utah to bring him up – to – date on what the gang had found.

She listened as the telephone at Sheriff Jackson's house ring about four times before somebody answered the phone. His wife answered. Andrea could tell his wife was breathing heavily and thought she just came back home from the gym.

"Hi, Ruth. Is the sheriff around or is he still at the station?" Andrea asked.

"Hello, Andrea. He's here, but is just stepping out of the shower. Let me go check and see if he'd like to take your call now."

"Okay. I'll hold," Andrea replied.

Ruth walked into the master bedroom and knocked. He was buttoning his shirt when he opened the door.

"Honey, Andrea is on the telephone. Are you willing to take her call or do you want me to tell her you'd call back?" Ruth asked.

"I can talk with her now. Thank you for telling me I had a call," he said, quickly giving his wife a kiss before he picked up the receiver.

"Hi, Andrea," Sheriff Jackson greeted her.

"Hi, Sheriff. I thought I'd bring you up – to – date on Virginia," she told him.

"What's the update? You know I will call from my phone whenever the 2nd Generation of Mystery Inc. have found out about her," Andrea said.

"Yes, we did agree on that. Sorry, Andrea. Now tell me the latest they had found. Is it something we could have missed?" Sheriff Jackson asked.

"I would like to think so, Sheriff. Get ready for this one: Frank Rogers found this at the public library on its computer. He found a copy of Virginia's unpublished novel."

"That is interesting, Andrea. I think we never came across that one. Did you get a chance to go through it?" he asked.

"I just finished doing that. I wanted to give you an update before telling them my thoughts on her story. That's what I'm going to do after this."

"Thank you for telling me this, Andrea. Do you want me to read the manuscript?" he asked.

"No, Sheriff. My sister's stories are all about romance, and I think you probably wouldn't like it anyway. Sorry to turn you down like this," Andrea told him.

"That's all right, Sheriff. I just happen to think I can't picture men like you going through a romance novel," she told him.

"I guess you're right. Please call again when they find more info," he told her.

"I plan to do that. I'll call again," she said and both officers hung up.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, the gang decided to share a post to their facebook page and thought it was a good idea to post Virginia's unpublished novel. They thought they'd preview it bit by bit and see if fans would recognize the content or not. It's worth a shot, Fred thought to himself. Before he could mention this idea, Velma bet her to it.

"I have an idea," Velma said a minute later.

"What's that?" Shaggy asked.

"Why don't we share Virginia's unpublished novel on our facebook page?"

"I was thinking the same thing, Velma," Fred told their friend.

"You were? Why didn't you say so?" Daphne asked him.

"Because Velma brought it up before I could," Fred answered.

So they logged into their page and tried to upload the manuscript.

"Shoot," Velma said under her breath.

"What?" Daphne asked.

"The site wouldn't let me share Virginia's unfinished manuscript," Velma answered.

"I do have a suggestion," Fred spoke up a minute or so later.

"What's that?" Shaggy asked, looking in his direction.

"Why don't we share half of it now and when we go and update later we can do more," Fred suggested.

"You mean like bits and pieces?" Daphne asked.

"Bingo," Fred told her.

"I thought I was right," Daphne said.

"You were," Velma told her.

"Oh," Shaggy said.

"Thought so," Fred replied.

So for now the gang thought it made sense to share the first chapter and see what their fans thought of the unpublished manuscript.

"I do have a question for Deputy Webber," Velma said.

"What's that?" Daphne asked.

"I was planning on asking if there was a title for the story," Velma wondered.

"I never thought of that one," Shaggy said.

"Me either," everyone said at the same time.

So everyone watched as Gloria uploaded the first chapter of the unpublished novel to facebook. She thought it made sense to do a bit at a time so it wouldn't bore the fans if they shared the entire manuscript. They thought it made sense to share a bit at a time, but if people found the preview a bit boring, they could stop reading it. Here's what the beginning of the preview Velma posted:

_A blonde young man in his thirties, slender, light – brown eyes, tattoo on his right arm, wore light – green pants with zipper added to it and light – green socks, black tennis shoes and forest green shirt. He just felt like wearing green for today, but it wasn't his favorite color, but something he pulled out of the closet to get dressed this morning. He headed off to work around eight – forty – five. Like several people, he worked a 9 – 5 shift._

_What Albert Jackson didn't know was that a cute, light – brown haired girl in her twenties was going to show up at his company before twelve. He had no idea what hit him when she first arrived at twelve that afternoon. He was getting ready to leave for his fifteen – minute lunch break when she walked in. He saw how cute and pretty she was. He could tell she looked interested in him._

This was all of the first chapter the gang thought but they didn't feel like sharing the entire first chapter but thought two paragraphs would be good to start off with. After Velma shared the text, the gang watched her log off facebook.

"Let's see what happens until the next time we log back in," Fred said.

"I'd love to see that too," Shaggy agreed with him.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, at nine – thirty that Wednesday morning, Fred decided to call Andrea and bring her up – to – date. The rests of the gang were at their own jobs, so they would have to hear about his conversation with Deputy Webber. They did know Fred was planning on putting a call in with Andrea, but they were interested in hearing what Andrea had to say.

"This Deputy Webber?" Fred asked once Andrea picked up her cell phone.

"Yes. May I ask who's calling?" Andrea asked.

"Fred Jones from Mystery Inc.," he said.

"Oh, hello, Fred. I wasn't expecting to hear from you," Andrea said.

"I know, but we wanted to talk with you," Fred said.

"You mean about Virginia?" Andrea asked.

"Yes."

"Go ahead," Andrea told him.

"Ms. Dinkley did have a question, but I'll let her ask you herself," Fred said, remembering what Velma mentioned yesterday.

"What did she want to ask me?"

"You'll find out. Our friend, Shaggy, was the one who found Virginia's unfinished manuscript on a website. He decided to print it out to share," Fred said.

"How in the world did he find it?" Andrea asked, who was now interested into what Fred was saying.

"I'm not sure. He didn't really tell us, but at least we think it's a clue to her murder," Fred told Andrea.

"My department never thought of finding a manuscript like hers. I guess that's something new in these past years," Andrea said.

"Really? Why didn't your boss think of that?" Fred asked.

"I guess we were busy thinking on different sides of her murder that we didn't even think of looking into that area," Andrea answered.

"Oh," was all Fred could think of to say.

"Are there anymore questions you want to ask me?" Andrea asked.

"Yes there are," Fred answered.

"Ask away."

"Was writing a dream of your sister's before she even thought about being published?"

"Not really. She didn't even think to bother being a famous writer. Her earlier works are also published with millions of copies in about forty or so languages. They seem to like her most in Britain," Andrea said.

"Wow. Is United States another popular country for her audience?" Fred asked.

"Yes, it is. She was pretty well – known here in the States when her first book came out. When her book came out in hardcover, it stayed at number one for two months and we were really surprised that she successed at it for a first story."

"I'll bet. Did she think of doing more books when she hit it?" Fred asked.

"No, but her readers sent her fan mail to keep on writing and asked for series, but Virginia was never really crazy about series, but she liked doing standalone novels best," Andrea told Fred.

"Wow."

"Yeah. How did your sister get comments on her stories?" Fred asked.

"The publishing company she was with shared them on Amazon so she mostly gets comments there, but I don't think she ever paid attention or read any of the reviews on her stories. We never really talked about that," Andrea told him.

"Oh. Are her books on Kindle too or not?" Fred asked.

"I'm not sure, but my guess would probably be yes. I really know nothing how this stuff works," Andrea answered.

"Oh," Fred said again.

"Is this all you wanted to talk about for now?" Andrea asked.

"Yes. We'll call you if we have anymore questions," Fred replied.

"Okay. Chat then," Andrea told him and they disconnected.

After putting the phone back in the receiver, Fred thought this telephone conversation he had just now was interesting, but it sounded like he and gang weren't getting anywhere on this case. His thought was: Should we quit or keep trying? He would probably not give up. He never gave up working on a case such as this.

Fred sighed aloud and nobody was in her office with her to hear that sigh.

He got up to take a short break from his computer and walked out of her office. He found Patsy typing away on the computer. Fred figured Patsy wanted to catch up on typing for that day. She saw as Fred looked up and found him looking in her direction.

"Do you need anything, Fred?" Patsy asked.

"No, I don't, but thank you for asking, Patsy. I'm just giving a few minutes' worth of stretching from the computer."

"Understandable," Patsy said.

"I'm not surprised people didn't want to come see me," Fred said.

"I'm sure somebody would sooner or later," Patsy told him.

"I think so too. I'm going outside for some fresh air," Fred replied.

"Okay."

Patsy watched as her boss walked out of the office.


	9. Chapter 9

That night, Fred and Daphne went out for supper. They didn't bother inviting Heather, Daphne and Claudia so they invited their friends instead. Shaggy and Velma were able to come along but accepted so they did Olive Garden.

Their waiter, Harold, who was in his late forties with light brown hair and eyes took care of them that evening. After everyone had ordered drinks and their orders for that night, the gang changed the subject to something else.

"Has anybody had any luck on clues to Virginia's unknown murder?" Fred asked.

He watched as the gang shook their heads, telling him they didn't find anything either.

"I'd like to see this case come to a close at some point, but somehow it looks like there's nothing much we can do," Fred said.

"I think we're done for tonight on this case," Fred said.

"We can split up tomorrow for sure," Daphne agreed.

As the gang talked about their parents, Harold returned with their drinks and breadsticks. He told them their orders should be here soon. The gang thanked him as he poured more water for them. They drank a lot of water while they had this conversation.

Five minutes later, Harold returned with their meals. Daphne, Shaggy and Fred ordered the eggplant and Velma ordered something else. She liked spaghetti, so she ordered it that night. Sometimes the gang would try new dishes and see if they liked it or not. Fred didn't care for seafood, but he's had a few tastes of it before. Every time he would have fish he would gag.

That night was Fred's turn to pay for their meal. They usually took turns paying for their meals, so it was no big deal to them if somebody would pay for everything or split the check. After Fred paid, everyone walked outside and where the Mystery Machine was parked. Fred had the front seat, so he was the driver. He and Daphne dropped their friends off and then headed for their apartment. It wasn't that late yet, but both of them decided to watch some television before turning in for the night. They decided for a movie on television. They found Forrest Gump. They were up to the part when Lieutenant Dan yelled at Forrest during the Vietnam war. That's when they decided to go to bed. They'd seen this movie a number of times enough to know what was happening next. They both said good – night and kissed. Fred was the first one to their bedroom. While he was in their bedroom, he was turning the lights off. Then when he finished that, he joined her in bed and then minutes later, they both were sound asleep.

Note: I'd like to thank all of those who have reviewed, added me and my stories to favorites, author and story alerts. Some of these stories can be found on my fictionpress account under the same name I have here. Hope you're all having a good summer, America readers!

I decided not to add Scooby himself in these stories even if he is one of the characters from the show, but I'll just let you picture him in my fics and think on what he would do. Since he speaks in R's most of the time, this is why I didn't bother adding him in, but again happy reading!


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, Fred told Patsy she could take today off, but Patsy refused and wanted to answer the phones. Patsy had been with Fred for almost eight years now. Fred had been in practice that long, so he thought Patsy was a perfect fit once he hired her. Kylie brought Patsy up – to – date on what was going on with the mystery.

"Wow, Fred. I do understand you and your friends need to come up with ideas to solve this case," Patsy told him.

"I know we do, but we haven't found anything that would solve the writer's murder," Fred told her.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something," Patsy reassured him.

"I know we will, but like the police told us, they had no new ideas to close the case. I guess that's probably why they came to me and the gang for some help."

"Looks that way," Patsy agreed.

"Maybe we could go to the spot where the murder scene happened," Fred suggested.

"Do you know the area to where the murder happened?" Patsy asked.

"I think that's where GPS comes in," Fred answered.

Fred once again grabbed the file Andrea had given him to look over on her sister's death. The file told Fred that the murder took place near a Baptist church around Broadway and Fifth Avenue.

"This happened in Utah, Patsy. I'm sure we would probably have to go out there for ourselves to see what evidence could pop up," Fred told her.

"Good luck with that one," Patsy said.

Patsy watched as Fred punched in Andrea's cell phone. Both listened to the phone ring until they received a voicemail.

"You have reached Andrea Webber. I am not in right now, but I'll be happy to return your call as soon as possible."

Then the beep sounded.

"Hi, Andrea. I'm Fred Jones. I was calling to see if my friends and I can come to Salt Lake sometime and see if we can go to the area your sister's murder began. Call me," Fred said and put the phone back.

"Do you think you'll hear anything back?" Patsy asked.

"I'm sure I will, but I'll give her all the time she needs," Fred answered back.

An hour or so passed. Both Fred and Patsy heard the phone ring. Patsy was closest to the phone, so she picked it up. After listening to the caller, Patsy handed the mouthpiece to her boss.

"Thanks," Fred said and took the phone from Patsy.

Patsy decided to leave Fred alone for the meantime so Fred could have his conversation with Andrea confidential.

"Hello, Andrea," Fred said.

"Hi. I got your message a couple of minutes ago," Andrea told him.

"I figured you'd get my message. I just came up with an idea," Fred said.

"What's that?" Andrea asked.

"I was wondering if my friends and I could go out to Salt Lake City and visit the place where your sister's murder occurred," Fred began.

"I don't know. That area has been closed since Virginia's murder, but I'll see what I can do about letting you and your friends investigating the crime scene."

"Thanks. I'll talk this over with my friends and see what they thought of my suggestion," Fred replied.

"Okay. I'll get back to you on that," Andrea said.

She thought it made sense to talk to this over with Sheriff Jackson. He probably wouldn't let them in on the murder scene, but there was no way Fred and his friends could come up with new ideas to close the case up.

"Thanks, Andrea. I appreciate it. Either one of you could call me once the sheriff has made a decision."

"We'll do that. Thanks for telling me your latest idea," she said and the two got off.

"Let's see what the gang thinks of the idea, but I'm sure they will agree," Fred said to himself as he put the phone back in its spot.


	11. Chapter 11

That night, Fred ate with Daphne and one of their granddaughters, Claudia.

"Anything new on the case?"Claudia asked.

"Looks like we're getting nowhere right now, sweetheart, but I hope to shut this case down at some point," Fred told her.

"What have you found out recently about the case?" Claudia asked as she finished swallowing a bite of steak.

She felt some meat sticking in her mouth. She'll take care of flossing it later.

Daphne could see Claudia watching her.

"Do you need a toothpick, Claudia?" Fred asked, offering to stand up to get her one.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Claudia said.

There was no wonder that Daphne had noticed she had something stuck in her mouth. Probably noticed it, Daphne thought quietly to himself. It didn't really matter to her what people thought of her having food stuck in her teeth but they will notice for sure.

"Thank you, Grandpa," she said as she took it from him.

"You're welcome, Claudia," Fred replied.

"How much further do you think you and Grandma have to go until you solve this one?" Claudia asked her grandmother.

"I have no idea, sweetheart. We'll just have to find that answer ourselves," Daphne answered.

She meant what she said. Claudia could tell that Daphne meant it when she said it while working on cases such as this.

"Think you'll do this one in court?" Claudia asked.

"I don't even want to think about it," Fred answered.

Again, he meant it this time. Nobody else said a word during the rest of the meal.


	12. Chapter 12

Later that afternoon, Andrea was on her cell phone, talking with the sheriff.

"Sheriff, I have a question from Mystery Inc.," Andrea told Sheriff Jackson.

"What's the question?" Sheriff Jackson asked.

"They wanted to know if they could look in the area where Virginia was murdered," Andrea told him.

"Not on a chance," Sheriff Jackson told Andrea.

"All right. I'll tell them," Andrea replied.

After he said that, there was no more.

After that, the two officers hung up. Andrea knew this would disappoint Kylie and the gang for sure. So she hopped into the car and turned the ignition on and drove straight over to Fred's to tell her what Sheriff Jackson had just told her. Sure, the group would be disappointed about not being able to check out her sister's murder.

* * *

It did, turn out that Fred was in his firm, but Fred's friends were at their own jobs. She knew for sure that Fred would pass this news on.

She found Patsy, Fred's secretary right at the desk.

"Hello, Officer," Patsy greeted Andrea.

"Is Mr. Jones in?" she asked.

"He is. I'll let him know you're here," Patsy told her.

Andrea wasn't planning on staying very long. Patsy told Andrea Fred would be happy to see her, and so Andrea thanked Patsy and entered the office.

"Hello, Fred," she greeted him.

"I have your answer from the sheriff," Andrea said.

"What did he tell you?" Fred asked.

"He said not a chance," Andrea told him.

"I'll pass it on. Thank you for letting me know and I'll pass it on," Fred said.

Andrea thanked him and left the office.


	13. Chapter 13

A few days later, Fred and the gang ate lunch in his office as they usually did. None of them were big fans of eating out, but when they had a mystery to solve that included travel, they had no choice. They knew for sure they could have grocery shopped for food while working on a mystery, but they were too busy focusing on the case they never had time to even think about it.

"Have you heard anything from Officer Webber or the sheriff, Fred?" Velma asked.

"She came here. I guess she wanted to tell me this in person instead of calling by her cell phone," Fred said.

"What did she say?" Shaggy asked.

He had a water bottle with him that day. He took the top off and took a long gulp.

"She said the sheriff told her we can't look around the area where Virginia was murdered," Fred said.

"Did she say why? We need to close this mystery at some point, and we need to start somewhere," Daphne spoke up as the others nodded.

"She's right," Fred said.

"She also said the area where her sister was murdered has been closed to the public when that first happened," Fred went on.

"We can still go out there and take the Mystery Machine with us," Fred said as he wiped his napkin across his face.

"What's the plan this time?" Shaggy asked.

"I was thinking we could split up as usual. Like you said about taking the Mystery Machine, a couple of us could drive to Utah where the murder took place and the rest of us could stay here," he said.

"I had that feeling you had thought up something like this," Shaggy said.

He didn't sound very surprised at all when he said that.


	14. Chapter 14

The gang logged on facebook to put a new update on Virginia's murder. Fred posted: _Still slow – going mystery on the murder of Virginia Webber. If you have any ideas on helping us close this mystery a little faster, please leave a comment, e – mail, or private message. We appreciate your thoughts. That's when he hit the POST button._

"Good way to share that post, Fred," Daphne told him.

"That's what I told myself," he replied.

That's when the gang decided to log off the website. Like lots of people around the world had a Twitter account, but he and the gang didn't bother having separate accounts.

Since Fred just updated their latest status about Virginia's murder, he let Shaggy update their Twitter account. They mostly posted the same tweet like they do with facebook. The gang liked to use facebook for sharing pictures and statues, but they decided not to share the pictures of their mysteries on Twitter itself.

That's when the gang watched as Shaggy logged off the website. Like some people, the gang never stayed on social media very often, but would only use it for their mysteries, but that was about it. Fred looked over Shaggy's shoulder while Shaggy did the typing. As Shaggy retweeted the latest update, Fred saw they had almost three hundred and fifty tweets, three thousand eighty – four followers, and no following other people. Somehow they just weren't interested in following anybody. After the gang watched as Shaggy logged off, Daphne sighed.

"What is it, Daph?" Velma asked.

"Nothing. So far we don't have enough clues for me to make this as a story for my column. I'd hate to disappoint our fans," Daphne answered.

"We'll come up with something. I don't know what it is yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something soon," Fred told her.

"I sure hope you're right, Fred," Daphne said.


	15. Chapter 15

After the gang left, Fred went back to the apartment to continue his job for the rest of the day. When he let himself through the unlocked apartment, he found Claudia holding his plunger in her left arm.

"Hello, sweetheart," he said.

When he said that, he watched his daughter jump a bit off the ground.

"Grandpa, don't scare me like that!" Claudia said once she finished jumping.

"Sorry, sweetheart. May I have my job back?" Fred asked.

"All right, Grandpa. The rest is yours for the rest of the day."

"Thank you, sweetheart," he said as he took the plunger from Claudia.

"Mind if I ask you something, Grandpa?"

"Go right ahead," Fred answered, looking straight at her.

"My question is, the next time you do this, just knock on the door. I don't like jumping like that."

"Sorry, Claudia. I'll remember that next time," Fred told his granddaughter.

After he said that, he walked over to give her a hug.

"How is this mystery turning out?" Claudia asked after grandfather and granddaughter finished their hug.

"It's coming along very slowly. We are running out of ideas to solve this murder case."

"Sorry to hear that, Grandpa. If you want me to, I can still stay here and take the telephone messages down for you."

"That will be a big help, Claudia. One of the clues we recently picked up was her unfinished novel."

"Wow. Good luck with it," Claudia told him.

"Thank you. Before I head on out, who was the tenant? I don't want them to be kept waiting."

"I understand, Grandpa."

When she finished talking, she gave her grandfather the details. That's when Fred left. He'd have to put this mystery aside for now so he could focus on his job for the rest of the day. _'I sure hope the gang and I could solve this murder and put the guilty person to court and it will be in the slammer,'_ he thought to himself.

Note: This is what Fred does when he's not in his office.


	16. Chapter 16

While finishing his tenants' complaints, Fred had trouble concentrating on his job. What was on his mind was Virginia's unsolved murder. He and his friends had solved several murder cases, but this one was making it to have this mystery from being solved. When he finished fixing a toilet, he let Claudia take over.

"Why are you giving me your job, Grandpa? Is there anything on your mind that wouldn't let you pay any attention for today?" Claudia asked, looking straight in his direction, her eyes focusing on him.

"You read my mind, sweetheart. Actually there is something that is distracting me."

"Spit it out," Claudia told him.

"This mystery wouldn't have me alone. This is why I asked you to take over."

"I know how much you and your group of friends hate leaving this sort of murder unsolved, but I still happen to think you will still have a chance to solve this murder," Claudia said positively.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he said and gave his daughter a kiss on her forehead. After that, Claudia was out of the door.


	17. Chapter 17

Fred had a thought about this entire murder case Andrea asked him and the gang to solve. It still didn't make sense to him on why a police officer would come to her and the gang to look into this sort of thing. Her thought was: why not see Andrea again for more questions? First he'd want do bring this up to his friends once they came to her office for lunch.

Then he went back on focusing his other clients' problems, until lunch arrived. He was still on the telephone with a client when Shaggy walked in. He put a finger on his lips, telling Shaggy he was busy. He understood, but he took a seat across from her anyway. On his way to Fred's office, he thought some more on this latest murder mystery. He was like Fred and his friends who still had no idea on how to solve this case, but of course there would be a way. That was always true.

Fred put the telephone back where it belonged and faced Shaggy.

"Any other ideas to solve this mystery?" Shaggy asked him.

"No, but I just thought of something," he answered.

"What's that?" Shaggy asked.

"I think it's time for us to have another chat with Andrea."

"I guess you're right, Fred. It's been awhile since our last conversation."

When he just finished saying that, the rest of their other friends came in. Then they took their seats when they finished greeting one another.

"Anything new on this mystery, Fred?" Velma wanted to know.

"Not yet, but I do have an idea."

"What's that?" Shaggy asked.

He told them.

"Do you know about this, Shaggy?" Velma asked.

"We were talking about this just now, right?" he asked Velma.

"Right."

"Did you make your telephone call to Andrea yet?" Daphne asked.

"Not yet, but I'll do it when we're finished and you guys cane know about it next time."

"Sounds good," Velma replied.

They took their time eating, but since they all were having different schedules, and that was pretty understandable.


	18. Chapter 18

After Fred made his call to Andrea, he sure hoped this conversation would have this case solved, even if he and the gang have no new ideas on the case to continue. Once he and Andrea scheduled for her to chat, Fred called his friends to let them know he scheduled to talk more about the murder.

"All right, Fred. We would be there," Daphne told her friend.

"I don't want you to miss out. Once the case is solved, you can publish it to your column."

"I plan to," Daphne said.

When she finished speaking, Fred and Daphne ended their telephone conversation.

Fred and Andrea scheduled a time for her to come in the following day. Just like Fred and his friends, Andrea hoped to catch the person who murdered her twin. Andrea who scheduled to come to Fred's office at noon. She knew Fred and his friends usually ate lunch in Fred's office.

Once she arrived at twelve sharp, all of Fred's friends were already there.

"Good afternoon, Deputy. Would you like to join us?" Fred asked.

"Thank you for asking, Mr. Jones, but I already have plans with a friend. Maybe next time."

"Okay," Fred said, standing up to help Andrea to her seat. When he finished, she thanked him.

"So, what do you want to see me for?" Andrea asked.

"We wanted to know what it was like living with your sister when you both were children," Fred told her.

"All right. I'll share, but it's a long story, but I do hope it will give you ideas to solve my sister's murder."

"Go ahead and tell us. When do you have to be at your lunch date?" Shaggy asked.

"Forty – five minutes. It'll give me plenty of time."

Then she began her story.

_Flashback:_

_In the orphanage in Milwaukee, Andrea and her twin sister, Virginia, were starting to get ready for bed. They usually had a conversation while getting in their pajamas and take a bath and then brush their teeth._

_"I wish we could find a home to live in," Virginia told her sister._

_"So do I, but it feels like we've been here almost all of our lives," Andrea agreed._

_"Maybe we will," Virginia said._

_It turned out they were both correct. The two twins usually agreed on the same thing, but they had a hard time trying ti picture what they would do if they were adopted from different families, but they couldn't do that, but you know already that as a twin, it would be hard to be separated from one another. These two sisters wanted to be in the same family._

_A couple of weeks later, a man who looked like Donny Osmond, came to the orphanage, already interested in adopting a child or two. It was a fact that if you happen to be a Mormon, the families are big._

_The twins had no clue as to know they didn't know who Donny Osmond is. Even the last name wasn't familiar to the sisters. As it turned out, it was Donny Osmond. The lady who was in charge was with him, showing the options he was interested in. He met several of the orphans, but not every one of them. Donny was interested in both of the sisters. Then he ended up taking Andrea and Virginia home with him._

_End Flashback_

"So, this is all I can share with you all for now. My time is already up. I can share the rest with you some other time," she said, standing up.

"I'll let you know when the time is good."

Once she left the office, Shaggy asked, "What do you think of that story, Fred?"

"It's an interesting start, Shaggy, but I think her story could be enough for us to do a bit of research."

"Why didn't I think about that?" Velma asked.

None of her friends gave her any answers.


	19. Chapter 19

That night, Velma used her phone to do more research on Virginia's murder. She thought by doing this, the case could end up being solved. She was in her own house without her friends wanting to hear what she'd found. _'Maybe I'll just post it on Twitter and facebook and they could see for themselves,'_ Gloria thought silently to herself. This had happened before on working to solve the murders.

She punched in Virginia Webber and had several results. At least researching now would go quicker this way. She had paper and pen, and she was all set. She went to one website to see if it mentioned her at all. It didn't. She didn't sound very happy about that website, so she decided to see what the other links had to say. She did find out that had a ton of information. So that's when her pen went to work. Here's what she found:

Romance writer, Virginia Webber was murdered in her car on her way home from doing some errands. When she locked her car door without her noticing, there was a person behind her. That person who shot her was never identified to know what sex the murderer was. This murder case is still an ongoing investigation. All the sheriff's office know for right now is the murderer left behind the gun as a clue. The clue was lying beside Virginia's vehicle.

The gun is now in good hands of the police. Ms. Webber's other sibling is a twin sister who is on the police force. For more questions, call Deputy Sheriff Andrea Webber for more background information. Gloria jotted all of that on her pad of paper.

"That is a real clue. I'm not going to say a word about this clue to the gang. I'll let them figure it out for themselves."

At last this was enough information for one night.

Velma tried falling asleep that night, so all she did was toss and turn. The information she'd found earlier still was telling her to keep researching. So she flipped her light on and once again grabbed her phone and once again and pen were ready. Once again, her pen and paper were ready. She was still wanting to see what else she'd find. She did really saw a ton of information where she last put the paper and pen ending that evening. Tired as she was, she found more info that was very helpful. Again she did put her pen, paper, and phone away since she was too tired to continue her search. _'Maybe I'll be able to concentrate tomorrow,'_ she thought to herself.


	20. Chapter 20

The next day, Velma met the gang at Fred's law firm since it was now time for lunch.

"Has anybody found any clues to this mystery?" Fred asked.

"I found one for sure," Velma said.

"You did? What's the clue this time?" Shaggy asked, already interested.

Like the rest of his friends, he really wanted to know.

"I'll let you guys figure it out for yourselves," was the only answer Velma gave them.

"Come on, Velma. This clue of yours could really help us solve this mystery. I've been getting e – mails from my readers that they can't wait any longer for me to publish," Daphne said.

"I also want this mystery shut down myself," Fred agreed.

"Just tell us what you found, and then we'll be satisfied," Shaggy said.

This was the first time he'd spoken since his arrival to the law firm.

"All right, I'll share, but I haven't shared it to facebook yet," Velma told her friends.

"As you all know, I happen to have wireless on my cell phone. I did a bit of research on our victim last night. Clue: I hit the jackpot and found an article. It gave out the clue, which happened to be a gun," Velma said.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy said.

"True," Velma agreed.

"Nice work, Velma. At least you found something none of us thought about," Fred told her.

"That's what I figured, Fred. I sure hope I can do a bit more research and see what else I can find that will shut this mystery for good," Velma told them.

"We wish you lots of luck, Velma," Shaggy told her.

"Thanks, Shag," Velma returned.


	21. Chapter 21

Later that afternoon, Velma sat on the living room sofa. The television jabbered away and she never paid any attention to the channel she'd had on. Once again, she punched in Virginia's name, and came up with the same results that she had the night before. She hoped she could get some more clues besides the gun.

She clicked on a link and see if that website could tell her something. There was no need to keep her fingers crossed. She decided to look over the article that she thought that would've been helpful to this murder. Here's what she found:

"Virginia Webber, a famous romance writer, was murdered, but the sheriff's office has announced this is an ongoing investigation. Even her sister, Deputy Sheriff Andrea Webber, couldn't think of anyone who would do such a thing. Question is why would someone want to kill a published writer? To know more information about Virginia, please contact Deputy Webber at this number. Velma left that website, sighing.

"I think I'll just do it that way," Velma told herself.

She was happy that her cell phone was lying by the laptop. So she reached for it and called Andrea right away. Five minutes later, she heard Andrea pick up.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi, Andrea. This is Velma Dinkley from Mystery Inc."

"Hello, Velma. I wasn't expecting to hear from you," Andrea told her.

"I kinda figured that. I was calling because I thought you could share anything that would help me and my friends solve this murder about you two growing up."

"Thank you for reminding me, Velma. I never got around to that yet, have I?"

"No, you haven't."

"Would you want to do this over the telephone or in your friend's law firm?" Andrea asked her.

"How about the telephone? I want to have a chance to solving this mystery before my friends," Velma answered.

"I understand. Where do you want me to start?"

"Maybe at the beginning. That would be a big help."

So that's when Andrea began the story.

"Virginia and I never really knew our parents. Our parents died shortly after we were born. After they passed away, Virginia and I were sent to an orphanage in Milwaukee. We didn't get adopted until we were seven. We were adopted into this musical family known as the Osmonds.

"They are friendly, but once we joined the family, we had to go to church. We were adopted as Mormon, but my sister and I really never care about religion. When we turned eight years old, we were baptized. Since our first Sunday service after we were adopted, Virginia and I were given our own copy of the Book of Mormon, which was written by the founder of the Latter – Day Saints Church, Joseph Smith.

"Both of us really didn't pay much attention to what the Bishop was talking about each week. Once we were old enough to live on our own, I went to police academy and she ended up finding an agent and publisher. The Osmond family weren't liking the fact I decided to have a career that involved violence. Sometimes you just don't have a choice.

"My entire life with the Osmond family, I had always wanted a career in the police department. My dream did end up coming true. I did watch a lot of the Andy Griffith Show. That's why I dreamed of becoming a cop.

"When I'd been on the Utah police force, my family was still keeping into changing my mind of changing careers. Uncle Alan did keep telling me that he and the rest of the family don't want me to end up dying like Joseph Smith did. I proved them wrong, all right. I always kept reassuring my family that I won't be dying anytime soon since I was still too young to pass away and go to Heaven. Sometimes you don't have a choice. I did already mention earlier about choice, so I ended up living, and that was all.

"Several years later, Virginia's murder happened and since her death on the first day my department heard about it, the case is still ongoing. My department agreed when a murder case like this one continues to stay unsolved, we don't want to give up. One of my last days attending the Mormon church, that's what a service the Bishop wanted to share with us. Virginia stopped attending the services and once her publisher accepted her latest novel, she left at the right time and I was still going. I wanted to stop with her, but plans didn't work that way.

"Unlike the Osmond family who made their careers popular in the seventies, Virginia and I didn't have the musical talent to keep the generations for the future. Still, Virginia had made it at the top of the Bestseller list up to number one, and the family were proud of her writing.

"Ever since we were fifteen years old and had just entered high school as freshmen, Virginia came up with several ideas. She never expected to be creative by writing fictional stories, and it wasn't something she wanted to do for a career. Like the spiritual saying goes, it's a gift God had given you."

"That's quite a story you told me, Andrea. Do you remember the name of the orphanage you and Virginia lived in?" Velma asked.

"No, I don't, and if I were you, I wouldn't bug the people who work there for questions. The original managers probably aren't living any longer," Andrea said to Velma.

This entire time Velma listed to Andrea about her childhood life, Velma already had a pen and some paper. She always came prepared to notes if necessary, and that's what she was doing this whole time.

"I think you've shared enough of your story, Deputy. I'll let you know if my friends and I have more questions to ask you."

"All right, Velma. I enjoyed sharing my past with you. And you know where to find me if you want to ask more about Virginia."

"I plan to do that, Deputy," Velma said and that's when she put the phone back in its place.

She looked her notes over. She saw that there was enough information to share with their fans to facebook and this time she'll let her friends look at the update on their own. She sighed, happy to know she'd gotten around to this before Fred would ask about it.


	22. Chapter 22

In the next day or so, Velma arrived at Fred's law firm. Today she was the first one to walk into the office.

"Hi, Velma. Won't you take a seat?" Fred asked his friend.

Velma did so and took a seat facing Fred.

"I saw that post on facebook, Velma. Were you the one who made that post?" Fred asked.

"It was me, Fred. I did some fast thinking since we were hardly getting to the end. I think I know who murdered Virginia."

"Who?" Fred asked.

"I won't want to ruin it for you but I would rather wait until the others come and join us."

"You have a point, Velma. I won't be able to set a schedule for a date until you tell me and we'll ask these questions in court."

"Okay. I can wait for a little bit longer."

"Good girl, Velma," Fred told her.

The two friends burst into giggles as they watched Shaggy and Daphne walk in.

"Hello. What are you laughing about?" Shaggy asked as he helped Daphne set down.

"Thank you, Shaggy," Daphne told her friend.

"No problem," Shaggy said in return.

"It was just a joke. You two won't want to hear it," Fred answered.

"Sorry if I asked."

"That's okay, Shaggy," Velma told him.

"Anytime, Velma."

"Who made that facebook post?" Shaggy asked, looking at all of his friends.

"I did," Velma answered, and then added, "it's already retweeted."

"That was fast thinking, Velma," Daphne said.

"I know."

Before the rest of you came in, Velma was telling me it's time to set up a court date," Fred said.

"Is that why the post we saw?" Daphne asked.

Velma nodded her head a second time.

"Why don't you share with us, Velma?" Shaggy asked.

"I think it was Andrea herself."

"Is there some sort of connection between the twin sisters?" Fred asked.

He still didn't get it.

"Just set up the date and you'll all see why I wanted to share it with the judge and jury."

"All right, if that's what you want," Fred said as he picked up the receiver and dialed a telephone number.

The gang was silent this entire time their leader was speaking. Then a minute or two later, Fred slammed the receiver. The gang were silent this entire time their leader was speaking.

"When is the court date?" Velma asked Fred.

"In the next day or so. We'll have to ask everyone to come," Fred said.

Daphne nodded. She was agreeing with what Fred just said. Fred had been a lawyer for a long time.

"Aren't you going to call up Andrea and tell her about the court date?" Velma asked.

Shaggy looked in Velma's face and said, "Of course Fred is going to telephone her, Velma. If Fred never made the call to Andrea and we will be sitting in the courtroom listening to the lawyers ask their questions."

"Duh," Daphne told Velma.

"Sorry, gang. I guess I wasn't paying attention," Velma said.

"That happens, Velma. It happens to everyone," Fred told her.

"Velma, I will make that call to Andrea after you guys leave. I know for sure Andrea will show up to answer questions from us lawyers," Fred told Velma.

Velma looked at the wall clock.

"I guess I should be heading out. I'll see you all next time," Velma said and gave out a stretch.

"I guess I should be leaving too," Shaggy said.

Everyone but Fred left.

Fred let out a sigh once Shaggy slammed the door. He needed to get up from his desk chair. He thought Velma had a good idea, so he did a few stretches before sitting down again. He ended up taking a short break before taking his seat and make the call to Andrea and tell her there would be a court date coming up.

Before Fred could sit down again, he heard a knock at the door. So he went to answer it. This time it was his secretary, Patsy.

"Hi, Patsy. Why don't you come on in?" Fred said, inviting Patsy.

"Thank you, Fred. I'm fine for now. You have a call from Andrea while your friends were here."

"The gang and I were just talking about her. I was going to call her anyway," Fred said as he took the message out of Patsy's hand.

"I'll come in again later, Fred," Patsy told her.

Fred didn't say anything.

He read what Patsy had written on a sticky note. Once again he was on the telephone for most of that afternoon. Andrea was the first call he'd made. He listened to Andrea's cell phone ring for a few times before Andrea took the call."

"Hello, Andrea. This is Fred Jones. My secretary took your call," Fred said.

"I was just calling to see if I could talk to you for a few minutes. Sure, go right ahead. What is it you would like to talk to me about?" Fred asked.

"I saw the latest facebook post you have on your fan page. Could you have that person who shared my telephone conversation with Velma? I know you and your friends have a job to do, but I want that post off."

"Why do you want that post deleted? We always post the latest clue post on our fan page, and you're the very first person to ask us this sort of question," Fred told her.

"I think it doesn't make any sense to put that latest information I share with you without permission. This is why I'm calling to complain."

"I'm very sorry, Andrea. I'm afraid we can't do that sort of thing. It'll have to be there forever," Fred told her.

"Next time I share something with you, I'm afraid I will have to give you my permission if I want it as a post."

"Oh. Andrea, I was going to call you anyway. Velma thinks she figured out who killed your sister and there will be a court date in a day or two."

"Thanks for telling me, Fred. See you then."

This time she didn't bother to say good - bye.


	23. Chapter 23

The day of the court session finally arrived. Fred was told from the judge the time was scheduled at two – fifteen. He mentioned to Fred over the telephone the morning was booked with a different case. Fred said that time did fit his schedule. He arrived right on time. Even his friends were there to find out if Velma's thought turned out to be correct and didn't want to miss out on all the fun.

The district attorney was the first to ask questions. Today the district attorney, whose name was Craig Anderson, looked to be younger than Fred. He was about mid – twenties to early forties, the gang guessed. Craig was very professional by wearing a tie and suit.

It was now his turn to ask questions. He didn't bother crossing her fingers to see if Velma's theory turned out to be correct.

"Andrea, would you like to tell us where you were when your sister was murdered?" Fred asked.

"Be happy to, Mr. Jones. I was out doing patrol. When I finished parking the sheriff's car in its usual place, I heard from Sheriff Jackson there was a call that just came in and is involved murder."

"Did Sheriff Jackson tell you it was Virginia was the one ended up ending her life?" Fred asked.

"Not right away. I was busy having a good day at work that he didn't want to ruin my day. He decided to wait an extra day or so to let me know she died."

"Which one of you was born first? You or Virginia?" Fred asked.

"I don't know. Our parents weren't long gone for a short period of time enough to tell us. A week after we were born, we started out living with foster parents."

When Andrea answered this question Fred just asked, Velma whispered to her friends, "See how she's lying?"

The rest of her friends said nothing, so all they could do was nod their heads, telling her the lying part was correct.

"What made you think about graduating from police academy?" Fred asked.

After he agreed with the jury for today's session, Fred did a little bit of research on Andrea's education with the police academy.

"I don't know what to think about on that one. I was having fun having to learn at that certain type of career."

"I did some research about your education with the police academy you attended. Is it true that you dropped out after two years?" Fred asked.

"That is not true! You need glasses to read it better. If I were you, I wouldn't put my nose in someone's schooling."

Everyone in the courtroom gasped. They could tell Andrea was lying through her teeth.

"After you dropped out from police academy, you were about to find work after Sheriff Jackson hired you. Since then you had been planning on a way to let your sister publishing her seventy – ninth novel to the public.'

"That makes no sense at all! I always let my sister in private. I supported her since she published her first novel. Why would I do such a thing like that?"

"That's something we want to know," Fred told her.

Andrea didn't say another word for a while, so she let Fred continue with his questions.

"Here's another question I'd like to ask," Fred said.

"What is it?" Andrea said.

"If you were out on patrol the day she was murdered, why was a gun parked in your sister's driveway?" Fred asked.

"I have no idea how to answer your question," Andrea replied

"We did find some evidence," Fred told her.

Sheriff Jackson also was at the courtroom. He'd been contacted by Fred so he could hear what Andrea's answers were. From what Fred just asked, he did remember finding the murder weapon by Virginia's car.

"Sheriff Jackson, would you mind stepping up for a few minutes?" Fred asked.

So he walked up from his seat.

"Yes, Mr. Jones?"

"Do you recall finding this gun on the victim's driveway nearby her vehicle?"

He studied the gun for a few minutes and then replied, "Yes, that gun does look familiar."

"Have you found out whose fingerprints that left the gun on the ground?"

"Yes, we did," Sheriff Jackson answered.

"Who left the gun?" Fred asked him.

"It was Andrea's gun," he said truthfully.

Everyone who was listening to his answer, gasped out loud.

"Is this really your gun?" Fred asked.

Andrea took a look at it and said, "Yes, it is."

"Why was your gun on Virginia's driveway if you were on patrol?" Fred asked.

Andrea shrugged. She didn't know how to find the words to that question.

"If it's your gun, I would like to announce this mystery solved. Why would you want to murder your own sister?" Fred asked.

"I'll tell you why! My sister was popular when we were in school and had the most attention when her books reached the Bestseller list. That's why I did that!"

The judge seemed to agree with Fred the case was now at an end.

"You are right, Mr. Jones. Sheriff, do your duty and lock her up," the judge said.

So Sheriff Jackson took out his set of handcuffs and said, "Your career is finished, Deputy. You should be ashamed of yourself."

When he said that, the judge said, "Court is now adjourned."

Fred took a short walk to where his friends were sitting.

"I told you I was right," Velma said.

"We wouldn't have thought of your idea to ask about her childhood. It's time to celebrate for another case solved," Fred said.

Everyone agreed and they all left together.


End file.
